Friday, January 30, 2015

“We
want to be really confident if we’re going to show you something at the top of
your News Feed. As we started building this, we realized we need more
confidence to show you the right and relevant things”

Facebook Place Tips dips into Open Graph
data culled from postings on a Facebook
Business Page for a location i.e. a Restaurant or a bar as well as photos posted
by your friend who have visited that same place.

Once
you've enable Facebook to track your
location via GPS, whenever you visit the place your friend have been, Facebook will serve up not only the Facebook Page for that business but also
the related posts and Pictures from your friends.

Possibly
the slow uptake of Facebook Friends
Nearby as well as Facebook Places may
have prompted them to merge the two. Facebook, albeit they’ve noticed more
revenue from Mobile users, probably realize that not all their Mobile Apps are
pulling their weight.

Thus
don’t be surprised if Facebook Friends
Nearby and Facebook Places eventually get the axe
later in 2015!

Simply
put, having friend recommend where you should eat and drink is really a recipe
for disaster. True friends in real life don’t stalk each other, even on Social
Media. We’re not really interested in where you‘ve been or what you may have
been doing!

Effectively
Facebook Place Tips, in an attempt to
palm itself off as a LBS (Location Based Service) like Friends Nearby, can
become a stalker tool as a friend in a Social Network does not guarantee that
they’re also your true friend in real life.

Hopefully
too, Facebook won't sell your
information and travel habits to advertisers, as this is actually what Facebook Place Tips actually sounds like.

With
some US$1,918,306 already resized, the new model in the Indiegogo run for the 64-Bit
and 128-Bit Jolla Tablet has some significantly improved specs over the
previously touted Indiegogo
crowdfunding the last go around. At 7.9", it got everything bigger than
the original Jolla Tablet

1.32GB up to 64GB Internal Memory, doubling
the 32GB in the previous model

2.4,450mAh up from 4,300mAh Battery

3.128GB microSD card support, up from 64GB

And
yes, the price has changed as well:

1.US$250 for the 64GB Jolla Tablet

2.US$300 for the 128GB Jolla Tablet

If
you already ordered the previous US$189 32GB Version, fret not, you can upgrade
for the difference of the price of the new ones above.

His
promised focus on the iPad at Apple's Earnings Call with analyst with regards
to their Stellar Performance during the Fourth Quarter of 2014 as stated in the
article “Seven
things we learned from Apple's earnings call”, published January 28, 2015
11:21 AM PST by Shara Tibken, CNET News will
carry more resonance when Apple pays more attention to quality Kickstarters
like Jolla.

That's
because the Nokia 215,
a budget feature phone launched during CES (Computer Electronics Show) 2015 in
Las Vegas, Nevada is priced at US$29, making it the cheapest feature phone with
smartphone capabilities on planet Earth as stated in the article “Meet
the world's cheapest smartphone”, published January 5, 2015: 8:00 AM ET By
Aaron Smith, CNN Money.

Running
on the Nokia Series 30+ OS, whatever that is, and supporting the 900/1800 MHz
bands, the US$29 Nokia
215 comes in one of two (2) versions based on SIM (Subscriber
Identification Module):

1.Nokia
215 Single SIM

2.Nokia
215 Dual SIM

The
screen is a 2.4" QVGA, a step above older Nokia feature phone but still
way below the standard to be even considered a budget smartphone. It's little
and cute with svelte significant numbers of 116mm x 50mm x 12.9mm and weighing
no more than a heavy-calorie Candybar at 78.7 grams.

Oh,
yes, you have some colour choices too:

1.Green

2.Black

3.White

True
to its feature phone roots, it's got a handy FM Radio to keep you up to date
with Cricket Matches and a flashlight for finding thing when the government
decides to shut off the power. Should in case you find that there's nothing on
the radio, you can surf the web using a built in Opera Mini Browser and Bing
Search.

Want
to know the weather?

MNS
Weather has you covered and interestingly too, it's also got Social Media baked
in i.e. Facebook and Twitter. However, if you can load MP3 via the USB Cable
that comes with the phone unto the 32 GB MicroSD Card that it supports, then
you can skip the Internet and the Radio altogether and just jam on your
headphones plugged into its 3.5mm AV Port!

Like
I said, a feature phone with some smartphone like features. But then it's got a
little more that should make it a tad interesting to Developed World peeps, no
matter how sophisticated your taste in smartphones!

Despite
the basic 3G Internet and the VGA Rear-Facing Camera, it's option to be
Dual-SIM would be much beloved by Americans - if it were in their country - as
aside from being no-contract, you're freed from being locked into one Network.
Two (2) Networks to choose from, with Battery life to match that of a regular
feature phone:

Even
more interesting is the proprietary SLAM Technology that allows you to share
those very same MP3 files (or any file for that matter) by just simply tapping
two (2) Nokia 215 together.
This, again, is a lot like a NFC or Bluetooth sharing in higher-end and even
Budget smartphones.

Sweet,
you say to yourself! So it's not to far below a budget smartphone, you think to
yourself after struggling to read the above sentences. When is this coming to
America, you ask? Alas, the answer isn't as easy as it sounds!

For
Americans wanting this US$29 phone, I’m sorry, but this isn't for you.

It's for the Developing World peeps in these
following Territories in the First Quarter of 2015 who can't afford an Apple
iPhone or are restricted from owning one:

1.Middle East

2.Africa

3.Asia

4.Europe

So
why those territories and no Developed World Countries like USA, Canada and
England!????

For
the Middle East read Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where the restrictive caveats of
their Telecoms Regulators don't permit high powered smartphones with IM
(Instant Messaging) services that uses hard encryption.

Terrorists
love those.

Asia
is really India, China and the Far East, as these markets are still growing despite
rumours of a slowdown in the Chinese market! China has similar restrictions
like the Islamic States, thus making them a market still not yet fully
exploited.

If
you're a user of blogging platforms like Tumblr,
you'll understand the frustration of editing on a platform that for the most
part only allows you to post a picture or video and then add words at the bottom,
usually in plain text.

Tumblr now caters to
real bloggers – How Editing tools will make Tumblr hotter than Instagram

I
really was expecting the ability to modify HTML as well, for deeper control of
the blog. After all, not so crazy about having to re-upload content I already
have on Picassa as well as the fact that Tumblr
will have access of all of it on one common platform, even if it is convenient
to use!

Hopefully
more Writing centric Editing tools, which will b coming in the next two (2)
days, to this already rich Blogging platform will attract quality writers and
also content that's not just focused on posting pictures, Instagram-like in
fashion.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

“We
are absolutely thrilled to be here in beautiful Jamaica planting some of the
best ginger in the world, and we want our efforts here to impact the lives of Jamaicans
in this community,"

Co-founder and
Executive Vice-President of doTERRA, Gregory Cook in an interview on Thursday
January 22nd 2015 with the Jamaica Gleaner on the growing of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)

It is truly a rare sight indeed to see
white people hard at work in a country mostly ruled by black people.

But that was indeed the case on Thursday
January 22nd 2015 when Hundreds of Americans from Utah-based group doTERRA who have an interest in selling essential
Oils, decided to farm up some ten (10) acres of previously forested land in
Haddo, Westmoreland in Jamaica to grow Ginger as stated in the article “Ginger
Planting Project Successful”, Published Tuesday January 27, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.

To be honest it wasn't all Americans; a
few visitors came from France, China, Japan, and Mexico. Of particular note was
a participant from North Idaho, Stephanie Newton, who also had her three (3)
month old baby Rudie, tag along to the farm with her.

Founder and Chairman of Farm Up Jamaica Neil Curtis wants this to
go national, quote: “Today proves that we can replicate this concept on a
bigger scale right here in Jamaica many times over, and we are certainly
looking for more support from across the Jamaican Diaspora to enable us to do
more”.

At the end of the growing period, which
is about eight to ten (8 to 10) months, they'll come back to Jamaica again,
harvest the Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)
themselves and use it to make Essential Oils that they'll export to some fifty
(50) countries around the world.

Teenagers from Knockalva Agricultural
School in nearby Ramble, close to Haddo, Westmoreland, came by to give a
helping hand. doTERRA plans to hand over management
of the Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) Farm to the students of the Knockalva Agricultural
School until their return in the next eight to ten (8 to 10) months in time for
harvest.

According
to CNET News, CEO of Apple Tim Cook announced that the Apple iWatch will start
shipping in April 2015 as stated in the article “Apple
Watch to start shipping in April”, published 27 January 2015 10:15 pm GMT
by Shara Tibken, CNET News.

He
apparently let the News drop during a session with analysts after their Earning
Call where they announces some impressive sales figures for the Fourth Quarter
of 2015 as stated in the article “Apple
rings up big holiday sales thanks to larger-screen iPhone 6”, published
January 27, 2015 1:47 PM PST by Shara Tibken, CNET
News. These sales figures have now been confirmed to be the best sales
Quarter in their 38 year history!

More
on their sales figures in another article as we expected the Apple iPhone 6 and
their fellow stablemates to break records; the star of the show right now is
the Apple Watch.

So
what makes the Apple Watch special? Aside from the precious material that are
used to design it and give it that customized look, it is really no different
from any other smartwatch!

Much ado about Apple
Watch - Apple Watch has no GPS, Calling but has NFC based Apple Pay

Aside
from these aesthetic Details, the Apple
Watch has few things to brag about specs wise that differentiate it from
the Wearables market that’s slowly being flooded with a bewildering list of
devices. Its Apple Watch Digital Crown wheel albeit well made, really just adds
a retro look to a physic la button that allows scrolling within the Apple Watch
without smudging the screen.

There
is also a small button on the side just below the Digital Crown that accesses
synched contacts from your smartphone; remember, this device can’t make calls,
but it synchs with the Apple iPhone 6 via Bluetooth 4.0, keeping you in the
loop even when you on a brisk morning job.

Heart
rate sensors a built into this beauty, suggesting that it also doubles as a
fitness tracker thanks to Apple Health Apps, which interestingly can work with
other fitness Trackers as noted in the article “How
to use a Fitbit with Apple Health”, published Dec. 24, 2014 - 9:00 AM PST
by Kif Leswing, Gigaom.

Most
of these Developers have no Apple Watch
to play with, merely a simulation Software environment. With no idea how
successful the Apple Watch will be,
they must be on pins and needles as to what to expect of all their work. The
anxiety of now knowing the launch date plays well into that anxiety.

Now
that the month of April 2015 is set on their calendars, they know that the sand
is running out of the hourglass and they have three (3) months to get their
head in the game.

CEO
Tim Cook has fired a warning short to both competitors and Developers who must
now be on Red Alert; Get your head in the Game as Apple is coming strong in
April 2015, the Month in the Year of the Sheep after a successful Fourth
Quarter of 2014!